Description

Kaaterskill Clove is the first area to which you get as you drive up Rte 23A. It has a wide range of routes, from WI2 to WI5 and multipitch ice as well. The biggest issue is parking. The main parking area for Asbestos Wall/the Ravine routes/Moore's Bridge is large enough for 8-10 cars if everyone is polite, but there are frequently more cars than available spaces; this parking lot can be reached by driving past Moore's Bridge and up the hill; the lot is on the left. Meeting up and carpooling is an excellent idea. The parking lot is generally plowed, but make sure to have a shovel, sand, or something if there's snow in the forecast. Other parking areas include:

For Moore's Bridge: there is a small parking lot approximately 1/2 mile BEFORE the bridge, on the left; however, it is only intermittently plowed - and then, only poorly. The small parking area that could at one time be found just below the bridge has been closed off with a guardrail to protect the new drains.

For Kaaterskill Falls: there is a large parking lot just above the hairpin turn/start of the Kaaterskill trail. Please park there if you're going to climb Trail's Left Flow, Kaaterskill Flow, or anything at the Falls itself.

Getting There

Take I-87 North to Exit 20 (Saugerties). After the toll booth, make a left onto Rte 32N; stay on Rte 32N until you reach Rte 32A. Make a left, and follow 32A to Rte 23A (in Palenville). Make a left on Rte 23A, and head through Palenville into the Clove. It is along Rte 23A that you can start to find the ice.

Buttermilk Falls is a prominent gully high on the left as you're heading up to Kaaterskill Clove from Palenville. Approach is well worth it for the 6 pitch NEI 3-4 climb. This climb has six fun pitches with about a one minute walk following each step. The steps are anywhere between 40 and 80 feet high. About half are WI3 and half WI4. The final pitch is a pillar that is by far the tallest, toughest and latest to come in.Standard approach is from the parking lot on the left side of the road as yo...[more]Browse More Classics in NY